Immigration

The Government's proposal to strengthen English language requirements for new citizens is labelled as too tough by a Government-controlled Senate committee which cautions against adopting a standard that "many current citizens could not reach".

US President Donald Trump scraps an immigration program that protects from deportation some 800,000 young men and women who were brought into the United States illegally as children, drawing sharp criticism, including from former president Barack Obama.

Almost 2,000 men detained by the Federal Government on Manus Island may receive compensation for mistreatment, in what legal experts say would be the largest human rights settlement in Australian legal history.

One of the world's most prominent anti-vaccination advocates, Kent Heckenlively, is denied entry to Australia, which he planned to visit as part of an international tour calling on parents to stop vaccinating their children.

Labor labels the Government "cruel" and "heartless" over its decision to cut financial assistance to a group of asylum seekers, as refugee advocates claim pregnant women are among those who will be forced to leave the country.

The Government will cut income support and accommodation services for about 100 asylum seekers in Australia for medical treatment, a move Labor says is designed to make vulnerable people "destitute and homeless".

Any governments that make payments to smugglers should face "the full brunt of the law", the UNHCR's Indonesia representative says, warning that people smugglers remain active in South-East Asia and the region.

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